Read full article here.

Recently, a friend of mine contacted me about meeting Hector Tobar from the LA times. She was excited to talk to him about the grassroots organizing that was happening in the neighborhood. She asked me if I wouldn’t mind talking to him about some of the community efforts in Wilmington. Hector and I had a great phone conversation where I talked about the importance of community, about how real change starts with the people, and the potential I saw in Wilmington.

The next day we met and I gave him a brief tour of our town. We met at Hojas Tea House, where I talked a little about the people in the community that are inspiring me. There are so many people in this community working together doing great things for Wilmington that I couldn’t name them all.

I am really glad that Hector wrote this article. It’s so great to see grassroots organizing making a difference where it matters. This is just the beginning of several steps that will lead to a positive change in our community. It is great to see people knowing the importance of going out into the world to find knowledge, and bringing back the necessary knowledge and tools that can help the youth in our community. I truly think it will start an honest dialog of community needs and help us realize our ability to create changes for ourselves. I believe this will change the image of Wilmington from within and without.

I would also like to thank this community for really coming together and supporting organizations like ours, WECAN, and others that are willing to put in the work to create change. I believe that art, writing and other forms of creativity can be revolutionary forces in a community like ours. It can change the way people see themselves and their community. It is great to know who we are and where we come from. I’d like to end with a message for the folks that know about the art world: the old system of art only existing in museums and galleries is dying, because art has always belonged to the people.